8.

3 Virtual Instrumentation (VIS)—Electrical and Environmental Parameters Analysis 87

Fig. 8.10 VIs acquisition and monitoring for THD %

Fig. 8.11 VIs severity index for short duration flicker (Pst)
88 8 Implementation of the BIPVS Monitoring System

Fig. 8.12 VIs front panel for BIPVS performance

Fig. 8.13 VIs front panel for BIPVS environmental performance

Reference 89

in the city of Bogota. These parameters are necessary to calculate the conversion
efficiency of the generator and the optimal sizing of a photovoltaic system.
In this VI can be observed the instantaneous numerical values and their real-time
graphic representation of ambient parameters acquired and monitored like the solar
radiation and ambient temperature of the implemented system.

Reference

1. G. Johnson, R. Jennings, LabVIEW Graphical Programming, 3rd edn. (Ed. McGraw-Hill,

Austin, 2006), pp. 7–9
Chapter 9
Performance, Behavior, and Analysis of BIPVS

The BIPVS is installed in the upper platform of the CIPI (Center for Research and
Engineering Processes) at the Universidad de Bogota Jorge Tadeo Lozano. It
started operations and monitoring process since January, 2015 to date.
The performance, behavior, and analysis of the BIPVS will be evaluated from
the technical aspect (BIPVS electrical and power quality parameters), the energy
aspect (energy efficiency of the PV generator and the complete BIPVS) and from
the environmental aspect (Environmental parameters like temperature and solar
radiation).
These parameters are described in the IEC 61724 standard [1], these have been
adopted by the international scientific community and are generally reported in
monthly and/or annual periods.

9.1 BIPVS Technical Performance

9.1.1 PV Generator Performance

The main results and most relevant aspects of PV generator performance monitor-
ing are presented in Figs. 7.1 and 7.2.
The total DC energy production (Fig. 9.1) of the PV array was 16.194 kWh
during 2 years of operation; with a mean daily energy of 674.77 kWh. February,
April and August were the months with the highest DC output energy.
Figure 9.2 shows that the PV array efficiency recorded an average of 13.75% for
the 2 years of monitoring; with a minimum of 12.56% in the month of March, 2015;
and a maximum of 14.87% for the month of April 2015. These results are due to the
influence of temperature on the solar modules and changing conditions of cloudi-
ness on the city of Bogotá.
February, 2015, June, 2015, April, 2016 and October, 2016 are in general the
months with the highest solar irradiance in Bogotá with values of around 4500 Wh/m

© Springer International Publishing AG 2018 91

A.J. Aristizábal Cardona et al., Building-Integrated Photovoltaic Systems (BIPVS),
[Link]
92 9 Performance, Behavior, and Analysis of BIPVS

Fig. 9.1 Profile of the mean daily DC energy production of the PV array together with the mean
daily ambient temperature, in Bogotá from 2015 (January) to 2016 (December)

2
-day; whereas March, July, 2015, August and December 2016 are the months with
the lowest average of daily irradiance, with values around 3500 Wh/m2-day. The
annual daily average of solar irradiance in Bogotá was 4.06 kWh/m2-day which is a
low value for a region near the equator. This particular behavior seems to arise from
the fact that Bogotá is located in the Andean Region, characterized by sudden
atmospheric changes and intermittent cloud cover.

9.1.2 Inverter Performance

The power production generated by the inverter is shown in Fig. 9.3 along with the
solar radiation profile for a sunny day between 6:00 am and 6:00 pm.
There is a high radiation (1300 W/m2) with changes that could be construed as
the emergence of small clouds during short periods of time due to the climate
behavior in Bogotá city.
This clearly shows a similar pattern between the AC power generated by the
inverter and solar radiation; obviously due to the PV generator’s photocurrent
dependence on the incident photons energy. This bell-shaped behavior indicates a
radiation increase between 10:00 am and 3:00 pm, and then it begins to fall to zero
at the 5:00 pm approximately.
9.1 BIPVS Technical Performance 93

Fig. 9.2 Profile of the PV array conversion efficiency together along with the mean daily solar
radiation in Bogotá, for 2015 (January) and 2016 (December)

Irradiance
AC Power
4000
Sunny Day
1400
10-12-2015 3500
1200
3000

1000
2500
Irradiance (W/m2)

AC Power (W)

800 2000

600 1500

1000
400

500
200
0
0
-500
03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00

Hour

Fig. 9.3 System’s irradiance and AC power variation for a sunny day
94 9 Performance, Behavior, and Analysis of BIPVS

Fig. 9.4 SB 5000TL-US Inverter Efficiency and AC output energy

It is also clear that power is not generated in the early morning hours due to the
fact that solar panels produce a voltage lower than 183 V which is not enough for
the inverter to turn on and start the power delivery. Around 7:30 am, the inverter
starts its operation, delivering power close to 600 W.
Figure 9.4 compares the monthly inverter’s efficiency average values, calculated
from the data obtained with the AC output energy. The results reveal a monthly
average efficiency of 90.75% for the 2 years of monitoring varying between 88%
and 93%, which indicates a photovoltaic system’s correct operation achieving the
maximum possible performance.
The AC energy produced by the inverter reaches a maximum of 498.56 kWh-day
in January 2015 and a minimum of 390 kWh-day in November 2015. The average
of ac output energy recorded was 447.24 kWh-day.

9.1.3 BIPVS Performance

Table 9.1 shows the BIPVS energy performance in accordance with the European
recommendations and the IEC 61724 standard, and YA, YR, YF, PR, LC and LS
parameters for 2-years of monitoring period.
Table 9.1 Values of: total energy produced by the BIPV system, parameters YR, YA, YF, PR, and LC, LS losses
AC output energy PV array capture System Performance Reference Array yield
Month (kWh-day) Final yield YF (h) losses LC (h) losses LS (h) ratio (PR) yield YR (h) YA (h)
January 2015 498.56 78.5 14.6 40.5 0.57 123.5 98.6
February 2015 456.89 90.3 23.5 36.4 0.68 112.6 105.4
March 2015 398.56 68.5 12.8 29.7 0.64 138.7 94.6
April 2015 421.45 76.4 17.8 36.8 0.58 111.2 117.4
May 2015 479.41 84.7 24.4 28.1 0.66 119.6 103.7
June 2015 437.8 68.2 12.7 38.9 0.63 125.8 98.3
July 2015 489.75 77.5 19.7 27.1 0.56 109.3 107.4
9.1 BIPVS Technical Performance

August 2015 469.41 73.2 22.3 39.6 0.6 116.7 103.2

September 2015 449.58 74.4 23.8 30.6 0.58 128.81 105.03
October 2015 470.65 79.7 24.5 29.2 0.6 133.41 108.8
November 2015 390 67.7 10.5 28.7 0.63 106.93 96.4
December 2015 402.35 68.9 12.3 41.6 0.56 122.91 110.6
January 2016 468.96 79.9 16.1 34.5 0.61 130.41 114.4
February 2016 448.21 71.2 14.5 37.1 0.58 123.12 108.3
March 2016 468.36 82.3 16.2 35.6 0.67 134.2 116.7
April 2016 395.45 84.6 16.7 34.8 0.63 129.4 118.4
May 2016 476.38 88.55 15.8 33.2 0.58 132.5 120.2
June 2016 402.54 68.5 11.3 29.7 0.67 116.7 92.8
July 2016 468.25 67.8 12.7 39.6 0.54 118.3 96.7
August 2016 396.25 73.2 22.5 31.2 0.63 122.6 105.8
September 2016 475.45 89.6 24.6 40.2 0.59 108.6 113.2
October 2016 435.69 63.2 16.8 37.6 0.68 122.8 118.1
November 2016 459.35 78.5 19.3 24.8 0.64 117.8 96.5
December 2016 474.36 84.3 11.3 29.2 0.57 127.5 104.3
Total 10,733.66 1839.65 416.7 814.7 14.68 2933.39 2554.83
95
96 9 Performance, Behavior, and Analysis of BIPVS

The total annual final yield YF for the PV system installed was 1839.65 h. This
value is according to those ones obtained for grid connected PV systems installed in
several IEA-PVPS countries, which varies between 700 and 1840 h.
The reference energy performance YR recorded a value of 2933.39 h. The
lowest value is recorded in the month of November of 2015 with 106.93 h and
the highest in the month of March of 2015 with 138.7 h. The performance of the PV
generator YA, recorded 2554.83 h and the high and low registers of the same
performance are of 120.2 and 92.8 h corresponding to the months of May and June
2016. The calculated performance ratio of the PV system varies between 0.54 and
0.68 along the 24 months that we have monitored it.
During this period of 2 years, it is observed that the DC energy supplied by the
photovoltaic system was 16.194 kWh equivalent to 16.2 MWh. The AC power of
the system had a contribution of 10,733.66 kWh, lower than the DC power, due to
the capture and system losses.
Figure 9.5 shows the PV array efficiency, inverter efficiency and system effi-
ciency for the 24 months of monitoring.

Fig. 9.5 Variations of: PV array efficiency, inverter efficiency and PV system efficiency
9.1 BIPVS Technical Performance 97

The efficiency of the inverter is above 90%. The efficiency of the PV generator is
close to 15% and the efficiency of the complete system is close to 11%. This last
efficiency is affected by the losses related to the inverter transformation of DC to
AC power, as well as the dissipation of power in the cables carrying the energy
between the PV generator and the electrical connection board.
The parameters that characterize the energy performance (PV generator perfor-
mance YA, final yield YF, Reference yield YR and performance ratio PR) are
defined in the document “European Guidelines for the Assessment of Photovoltaic
Plants” [1]. These parameters are also determined from the measurements made
with the monitoring system.

[Link] Photovoltaic Generator Performance (“Array Yield”) YA

It is defined as the ratio of the energy produced by the photovoltaic generator in a

given period of time (EGFV,τ) with respect to the installed nominal power.

EGFV, t
YA ¼ KWh
, DC=KW, DC Þ ð9:1Þ
Pnom, G

[Link] Final Yield YF

It is defined as the ratio between the useful energy produced by the PV system over
a certain period of time, (EFV,τ AC), with respect to the nominal power installed.

EFV, t, AC
YF ¼ KWh
, AC=KW, DC Þ ð9:2Þ
Pnom, G

[Link] Reference Yield YR

It is defined as the quotient between the solar radiation incident on the generator
over a certain period of time (Ginc,τ) and the standard solar radiation GSTC
(GSTC ¼ 1000 W m2).
Ginc, t KWh 2
YR ¼ ð , m =1 KWm2 Þ ð9:3Þ
GSTC

[Link] Performance Ratio PR

It is defined as the ratio between the final yield, YF and reference yield, YR. This
parameter is independent of the size (power) of the installation and is affected by